The present invention broadly relates to a method of reducing the stickiness or tackiness of fibers of cotton flocks contaminated with honeydew and, more specifically pertains to a new and improved method of treating cotton contaminated with honeydew.
Generally speaking, the present invention relates to a new and improved method of the type hereinbefore described and which method entails supplying heat to the cotton to be treated.
It is known that cotton flocks of many provenances or origins are contaminated or coated to varying degrees with insect secretions which contain sugar. These sugar-containing secretions are generally termed honeydew. There is known a laboratory method by means of which such honeydew is allowed to caramelize by heating cotton flock samples in an oven for the purpose of determining the degree of honeydew contamination from the resulting change in the color of the cotton flocks. This is namely very important because, in the event of considerable contamination, the cotton flocks become sticky or tacky and tend to adhere to various parts of the yarn production plant or to form laps or coils at rolls or rollers or at other rotatable members. This result is very undesirable since it causes frequent interruptions of the yarn manufacturing process.
A method of the aforementioned type is disclosed in European Patent Application No. 86102352.1, published Oct. 8, 1986 under Publication No. 196,449. The object of this known method is to convert any contaminating honeydew into a non-sticky or non-adhesive and brittle state or condition by supplying heat for a short period of time, but without causing any discoloration or change in the color of the cotton flocks, so that the brittle sugar deposits can be crushed and removed in the course of subsequent processing.
A number of devices or apparatus for performing this prior art method have been proposed in the abovementioned European Patent Application No. 86102352.1, published under Publication No. 196,449. One device or apparatus is intended to heat the fiber flocks before the actual opening of the raw cotton bales, i.e. directly at the start of the yarn manufacturing process. Other devices or apparatus are intended for treating fiber slivers before drafting.